While building your company is certainly of primary importance to any business owner, properly planning for and executing your exit plan is an often overlooked facet of business ownership that leaves many successful owners in the lurch when it’s time to move on. You’ve worked hard to grow revenue, increase brand awareness, and carve your foothold in the marketplace – don’t let these common setbacks prevent you from achieving the same level of success as you transition forward!
What exactly IS an exit strategy? Small business owners have their hands full building and maintaining a business, but rarely spend time in advance thinking about how they’ll eventually hand off the company they’ve built. Understanding your options to transition out of the business can help you develop long-term goals and an exit strategy that nets you the largest possible return on your time and financial investment in your business. Check out these five exit strategy types to start thinking ahead!
We’ve all seen our share of tire-kickers – those would-be buyers who take their time in making a purchase decision, evaluating every detail because they’re in no rush to pull the trigger. This problem becomes especially prominent when your company’s main service or product is a comprehensive, all-inclusive solution since there’s that much more to […]
We’ve heard it over and over again: it’s important for the environment to work “green” or eco-friendly initiatives into our lives whenever we can. For individuals, the path to a greener lifestyle is simpler, but for businesses, an eco-conscious approach may seem difficult to integrate at first. We think there are plenty of green initiatives […]
Sales Renewal is often asked to help clients wrestling with challenging strategic decisions, whether it’s adjusting their business and marketing strategies to their new Covid realities (something that has unfortunately become way too common), reducing their time-to-first-dollar from prospects in their pipeline or devising a go-to-market strategy for a new product or service they’re considering. […]
The Problem: Prospects Sit In Your Pipeline Too Long Many service providers often have a single, all-inclusive service that’s presented as a binary choice: hire us for the whole service or don’t hire us. Because these services are typically important and consequential (e.g., wealth managers help save for retirement, lawyers defend against lawsuits, architects design […]
The COVID-19 pandemic will likely be an inflection point in the design of public and retail spaces. Expect to see changes in materials used (plastic and steel are out – copper is in) and navigation paths (more IKEA single-path navigation, less Apple Store open concept). In addition, advanced HVAC filtration systems and spacial semiotics to denote entrance to a clean, controlled environment will be needed to instill consumer confidence and encourage customers to return to brick-and-mortar retailers.
But what does it actually mean to be a thought leader? Is it in fact a good marketing strategy for the professional services firm? The answers to these questions, and more, are what we will cover in this post.
As a specific strategy within the broader discipline of content marketing, thought leadership not only showcases particular expertise, it demonstrates new thinking that influences the development of the broader field and is used successfully by many professional service providers. Whether you’re a resident expert, know to those within your firm as the “go-to” on a particular subject matter, or an aspiring national or international expert recognized beyond your firm and industry boundaries, it’s important to develop your thought leadership strategy. From identifying your target audience, to narrowly defining your area of expertise, deciding on content and gaining visibility for your ideas, there’s a lot more to thought leadership than simply writing articles. Read more on how to develop your strategy, how to improve your content, and how to increase visibility if you or your firm is looking to use thought leadership to grow your brand.
It’s that time of year when people are getting the most shopping done but it can be difficult for small businesses to compete on Black Friday. Thankfully, Small Business Saturday is the very next day and focuses on shoppers’ attention on buying locally to support small businesses. While it might not be as familiar as the other big shopping days like Black Friday and Cyber Monday, it still generates a lot of attention. Last year, shoppers spent about $17.8 billion at smaller companies on Small Business Saturday.
If you’re a small business and you want to take advantage of the Small Business Saturday, make sure you set goals and are prepared to meet them! Generate as much attention as you can through local online groups and throughout the community to let them know you’re are participating and be sure to answer any questions or comments online. Part of the allure of shopping at a local business is being greeted with a friendly face and engaging in conversations – be sure to create a warm environment and unique experience so that shoppers will remember you and keep coming back!
Consumers will be using Saturday to shop local – make sure your business is at the top of their list to visit.
